Onion-topping machine.



' D. H. BUYER.

ONION'TOPPING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 18, I918- l,299,233, Patented Apr. 1,1919;

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

fiazga'd H3056 0. H. Rome.

ONION TOPPING MACHINE.

7 APPLICATION FiLED MAY [8. 9H1. 1,299,233, Patented Apr. 1,1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- HI'TOF/VE V D. H. RQYER.

ONION TOPPING MACHINE.

APPHCATION FILED MAY 18. 913- 1,299,233. Patented Apr. 1,1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- Afro/Mfr DAVID H. ROYER, on HARTVILLE, OHIO.

ONION-TOPPING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 1,1919.

Application filed May 18, 1918. Serial No. 235,252.

To all whom it may concern: 1

Be it known that I, DAVID H. RoYER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hartville, in the county of Stark and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Onion-Topping Machine, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to onion topping machines, the object being to construct a machine of this class with rotary knives arranged to clip the onion top from the onion as the said onion passes over the said knives.

Another object is to construct a machin of this class with means for automatically feeding the onions into the cutting trough.

Another object is to agitate the cutting trough so that the onions fed therein will be rolled downwardly and over the rotary knives.

9 Another object is to construct the agitating means so that it may be adjusted so as to get varying degrees of agitation.

Another object is to construct a device of this class in such a way-that the work ing parts thereof when in operation will be comparatively silent thus eliminating one very objectionable feature now common in this class of machines.

With these objects in view the invention consists in the novel construction and arrangement of parts, hereinafter described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that various changes in the form, proportions, size and minor details of construction may be made within the scope .of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section through my machine; 7

Fig. 2 is a section taken on the line 2-2. of Fig. 1. p r

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectiontaken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig.4 is a similar view taken on the line 4-4, of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged deta1l of the rocking means by which the hopper is rocked to automatically feed the onions therefrom.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail of the agitating means for rocking the cutter trough.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

The frame of my machine is preferably rectangular and is mounted upon uprights or legs 1. The side rails 2 and cross reinforclng members 4 complete the frame work. Mounted in journals 5, which are secured in alinement and through the side members 2, is a drive shaft 6. upon one end of which is mounted a drive pulley 7 which connects by a belt 8 to any suitable source of power such as electric or gas motor.

Pivoted adjacent their lower ends upon the shaft 4, are a pair of spaced, inclined support rails 9 and 10. Support brackets 11 which are pivotally connected at their upper ends to the inclined members 9 and 10, are adjustably secured to the rails 2 by bolts 12 which are adapted to be inserted through any one of a plurality of openings 14 formed in the members 11, the said bolts then passing through the side" members 2. Cross supports 15, 16 and 17, arranged as shown in Fig. 1, connect the inclined supports 9 and 10 together and mounted cen trally of the supports 15, 16 and 17 is a shaft 18 which rotates in bearings19 carried by the said supports. "A beveled pinion 20 is secured to the lower extremity of the shaft 18 and meshes with a similar pinion 21 carried by the drive shaft '6)- Secured at the under edge of each of the cross supports15 and 17 is abracket 22. These bracketseach have a threaded aperture extending through them and fitting within the said apertures are threaded-pins 24. As clearly shown in Fig. 4 these pins 24 are threaded for only apart of their length, their upper portions being somewhat reduced and arranged to fit within apertures formed in sliding journal supports .25. These journal, supports are each formed with a vertical, longitudinal slot 26 which fitsabout the shaft 18 in spaced re lation thereto andthus allows the said journal supports to be raised and lowered by means 01' the threaded pins 24. A bearing is formed inthe upper portion of each ofthe journal supports and inthese bearings fit journals 27 carried by .V-shaped braces 28.

Side members 29 spaced apart at their lower edges, are secured to the V-shaped braces to form a V-shaped trough with a longitudinal slot 30 at its bottom. V-shaped brace 31 is located at approximately the longitudinal center of the V-shaped trough for the purpose of adding rigidity and a V-shaped brace 32 is secured adjacent the lower ends of the side pieces 29 and has a hinge portion formed at one of its upper ends for a purpose to be hereinafter described.

Secured upon the shaft 18 are rotary cutters 34 which are arranged to cooperate with a knife blade 35 which is adjustably secured by means of slots and screws to brackets 36. The knife 35 is arranged in alinement with the slot 30 at the bottom of the V-shaped trough as shown in Fig. 3. As previously described the trough is mounted upon journals 27 carried by the brackets 28 and can thus be rocked from side to side. A connectmg link 37 having a plurality of pin openings in its upper extremity is hingedly connected to the hinge previously referred to upon the bracket 32 by having a pin inserted through the said hinge and one of the pin openings as shown in Fig. 6. The other extremity of the link 37 is also hingedly connected to a yoke 38 which fits upon a cam 39 carried by the shaft 6. As the cam-rotates with the drive shaft 6, the yoke 38 will be oscillated and through the medium of the link 37 will thus rock the trough from side to side upon the journals 27.

At the upper extremity of the shaft 18 is connected a crank arm and pin as shown at 40, and upon this crank pin is mounted to operate a link 41 which has a plurality of openings in its upper extremity through one .of which openings a pin is inserted to form a pivotal connection between the said link and a right angled bracket 42 whlch 1s se cured to the under side of a feed hopper 44. The feed hopper 44 is pivotally supported as at 45 at one end upon brackets 46 which are bolted to the members 9 and 10. The

rotation of the shaft 18 will thus through the medium of the crank 40 and link 41, cause the hopper to be rocked up and down upon its pivots 45. The bottom of the said hopper is formed of comparatively coarse mesh wire as shown at 47. This is to permit sand or other foreign matter mingled with the onions deposited in the hopper to be discharged through the bottom of the hopper. As shown the forward or lower end of the hopper tapers to 21. P011113 which point extends over the V-shaped trough. A solid bottom portion 48 extending laterally across the bottom of the hopper and commencing at a point where the sides of the said hopper taper inwardly extends toward the point of the hopper and terminates about four or five inches from the said point as clearly shown in Fig. 1. Secured to the under side of the solid. bottom portion 48 is a slidable door 49. This door is designed to be moved backwardly or forwardly away from or toward the point at the front end of the hopper for the purpose of increasing or decreasing the opening through which onions placed in the said hopper will be discharged. About midwa 7 within the hopper is hung a air of hinged baffles 50. These hinged ba 1 es will be entirely closed when they are in alinement and as they are swung forward the opening between them will obviously be increased. A latch 51 is designed to fasten the said bafiies in any desired osition. It will be seen that when the onions have been deposited in the upper portion of the hopper, the flow of the said onions toward the point of the hopper is readily regulated by the adjusting of the hinged baffles 50.

A bracket 52 is secured to one of the side members 2 at a point near the end of the machine opposite the hopper. Upon this bracket is pivotally mounted a discharge chute 54, the upper end of which is secured by a bracket 55 to one of the members 29 of the V-shaped trough. It is obvious that when the V-shaped trough is agitated that the discharge chute 54 ovill be rocked upon its pivot.

The operation of my machine will be substantially as follows: The motor having been started to drive the shaft 6 through the belt and pulley 7 will rotate the said shaft 6 in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1. Through the meshing of the pinions 20 and 21 the shaft 18 will thus be rotated clock-wise, as seen in Figs. 2 and This direction of rotation is the desired one to cause the rotary knives 34 to prop erly cooperate .with the stationary knife to produce a shearing action. Onions to be topped are then placed in the extreme upper portion of the hopper 44 and the baffles 50 adjusted to allow the onions to be fed downwardly toward the forward point of the hopper as the said hopper is rocked up and down by the link 41. If particularly small onions are being handled the sliding plate 49 can be moved fonwardly to reduce the size of the discharge opening so that the onions will not be fed too rapidly through the hopper and likewise can be opened if larger onions are to be topped. The onions having been discharged from the hopper will fall into the V-shaped trough which is being rocked from side to side by the link 37 and cam 39. The agitation produced by the said rocking will cause the onions to roll downwardly through the inclined trough and while being thus rolled the tops will be projected through the slot 30 whereupon the revolving knives 34 will remove the said tops, the onion continuing its progress toward the end of the trough and falling into the discharge chute 54. A crate or other suitable receptacle may be placed at the lower end of the discharge chute and as the said chute is being agitated through the bracket 55 attached to the V-shaped trough, the onions will be shaken downwardly and discharged from thechute into the crate.

The incline given to theside members 9 and 10 can be made greater or less by removing the bolts 12 and inserting them through any desired one of the openings 14 formed in the supports 11. The angle of incline of the hopper can likewise be adjusted by removing the pivot bolts 45, and inserting them through another of the open ings in the braces e6. It may sometimes be desirable tochange the throw of the link tl wvhich-agitates the hopper inwhich case the bolt securing the link 41 to the bracket 42 can be inserted through another of the openings in the link 41. A' plurality of openingsare likewise formed in the link 47, by which the agitation of the V-shaped trough may be varied.

It will be seen that by reference to Fig. 4:

that by the'adjustment obtainable through the raising and lowering of the journal block 25 the V-trough will be moved away from or toward the knives. It is thus possible to obtain an adjustment so that the top may be cut close to the onion or left longer as desired.

It .will also be seen by reference to Figs. 3 and 4: that the side members 29 are secured to the braces 28 by bolts passing through elongated slots. Adjustment is therefore possible in the width of the slot 30 by moving the members 29 farther apart or closer together. When large onions are being topped it will be desirable to increase the width of the slot and lower the trough near to the knives and likewise when smaller onions are being topped the slot 3 can be narrowed to prevent too much of the onion projecting through.

Having fully described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In an onion topper, a hopper pivotally mounted and designed to be filled with untopped onions, an opening designed to diucharge onions from the said hopper, a rotary shaft arranged beneath the said hopper, a crank carried by said shaft and a link con.- necting the said hopper with the said crank whereby the said hopper will be rocked upon its pivots when the shaft rotates.

2. In an onion topper, a frame, a pair of inclined support members pivoted upon the said frame, adjustable brackets secured to the said inclined support members by which the angle of incline of the said support members can be increased or decreased and means carried by the said support members for removing the tops from onions.

3. In an onion topper, a frame, a drive shaft carried by said frame, a pair of spaced inclined support members pivotally mounted upon said drive shaft, cross members connecting the said inclined supports, a second shaft rotatably mounted in journal carried by said cross members, a pinion mounted upon said second shaft, said pinion meshing with a similar pinion carried by the saiddrive shaft whereby the said second shaft will rotate as the drive shaft is rotated, knives mounted upon the said second shaft and designed to rotate therewith, a trough mounted in vertical alinement above the said knives, said trough designed to re- .ceive untopped onions, a slot formed in the bottom of the said trough through which the tops of the onions within the said trough are designed to project, said rotary knives being designed to remove the said onion tops as they project through the said slot.

4:. In an onion topper, an inclined V- trough designed to receive untopped onions, a slot formed in the bottom of said trough, the side members of said trough being adjustably secured, and designed to be moved to increase or decrease the width of said slot, agitating means connected to the said trough and designed to agitate the trough to cause the onions to roll downwardly therein and project their tops through said slot the said agitating means being provided with an adjustment to increase or decrease the degree of agitation, rotary knives mounted beneath the said trough and designed to remove the onion tops projecting through the said slot.

5. In an onion topper, an inclined V- shaped trough designed to receive untopped onions, ournals secured to said trough, bearings slidably mounted and designed to receive the said journals, rocking means attached to the said trough and designed to rock the trough upon the said bearings, knives mounted beneath said trough and means for moving the slidable bearings to adjust the trough away from or toward the said knives.

6. In a vegetable topper, a hopper pivotally mounted and designed to be filled with untopped vegetables, a discharge opening in said hopper, a rotary shaft arranged beneath said hopper and means adjustably connected with said hopper from said shaft and designed to rock the said hopper upon its pivots when the shaft rotates.

7 In a vegetable topper, a hopper pivotally mounted and designed to be filled with untopped vegetables, a discharge opening in said hopper, a crank carried by said shaft and connected to said hopper and designed to rock the said hopper upon its pivots when the shaft rotates and adjusting means upon the said shaft for limiting the movement of the hopper upon its pivots due to the rotation of said shaft.

8. In a vegetable topper, an inclined trough designed to receive untopped vegetables, a rotatable shaft mounted beneath said trough and means connecting to said shaft and said trough to agitate said trough when said shaft rotates.

9. In a vegetable topper, a pivotally mounted V-shaped trough, a shaft rotatably mounted beneath said trough and means connecting said shaft and trough and designed to rock said trough upon its pivots when said shaft rotates.

10. In a vegetable topper, a pivotally mounted trough, a shaft rotatably mounted adjacent said trough and a link connected to said trough and operatively connected to said shaft anddesigned to rock said trough upon its pivots as the shaft rotates and ad justable means upon said link for limiting the movement of said trough.

11. In a vegetable topper, a V-shaped trough, rotatable knives mounted adjacent said trough and means for adjusting said trough toward or away from said knives.

12. In a vegetable topper, a trough pivotally mounted and designed to receive untopped vegetables, top removing means adjacent said trough and means for adjusting the pivotal points of said trough toward and away from said top removing means.

13. In a vegetable topper, a slotted trough designed to receive untopped vegetables, said trough being pivotally mounted in adj ustable brackets, top removing means adjacent said slot and means for adjusting said adjustable brackets to move the trough to- Ward or away from said top removing means.

In testimony that I claim the above, I

have hereunto subscribed my name.

DAVID H. ROYER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addreuin: the "Gommiuloner of Eaten, Washington, D. C. 

